Winda Purnama Ningsih (one of the petitioners) retracting the judicial review petition of the National Education System Law, Wednesday (7/3/2024). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held a confirmation hearing for the material judicial review of Article 3 of Law No. 20 of 2003 on the National Education System (Sisdiknas) for case No. 40/PUU-XXII/2024 on Wednesday, July 3, 2024 in the plenary courtroom. the Petitioner believe that it has not guaranteed the right of Indonesian children to nutritious food.

The hearing was presided over by Constitutional Justices Enny Nurbaningsih (panel chair), M. Guntur Hamzah, and Asrul Sani.

Justice Enny stated that the hearing should be a petition revision hearing, but the Court had received a request for petition retraction from the Petitioner.

“We need confirmation, is the letter from the Indonesia Food Security Review? Please explain,” she said at the on-site hearing.

In response, one of the petitioners, Winda Purnama Ningsih, stated that the Indonesia Food Security Review had sent the letter. “We would like to retract the material judicial review petition of Law No. 20 of 2003 on the National Education System,” she emphasized.

Also read: Students Do Not Get Nutritious Food, Education System Law Challenged

The Petitioners argued that Article 3 of the National Education System Law contradicts Article 28B paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution, which states that every child has the right to live, grow, and develop in a healthy manner and to be protected from adverse influences. They feel that their constitutional right to obtain guarantee for the fulfillment of their children’s right to nutritious food has been impaired by the enforcement of Article 3 of the National Education System Law.

They believe the article only regulates the objectives of national education, without specifically regulating how the Government guarantees the right of Indonesian children to nutritious food. Although the National Education System Law includes the objective to develop the learners’ potential to become healthy human beings, there is no detailed explanation of how this will be achieved, particularly in the context of nutrition.

The Petitioners are founder and executive director of the Indonesia Food Security Review Foundation I Dewa Made Agung Kertha Nugraha, the Student Council Forum represented by Winda Purnama Ningsih, the Indonesian Student Welfare Alliance Society represented by Galvien Krisna, and individuals Alfatehan Septianta and Rifaldo Deska Putra. In their petitum, they request that Article 3 of the National Education System Law be amended to state that national education aims to develop students’ potential of becoming human beings who are faithful and devoted to God Almighty, have noble character, are healthy, knowledgeable, capable, creative, independent, and become democratic and responsible citizens; to improve the quality and relevance of education to the needs of society and global challenges; and to provide healthy and nutritious food for every school child, in both public and private schools, every day throughout Indonesia.

Author            : Utami Argawati
Editor             : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR                 : Fauzan Febriyan
Translator       : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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